


baby boy bathtime

by borrowedlimbs



Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: Angst, Bath, Bathing/Washing, Bathtubs, Fluff, Hair Washing, Henry Bowers being a good guy, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Self-Harm, Singing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2021-01-23 16:36:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21323302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/borrowedlimbs/pseuds/borrowedlimbs
Summary: Henry gives Stan a bath.
Relationships: Henry Bowers/Stanley Uris
Kudos: 48





	baby boy bathtime

Henry looked at Stan and told him to sit there. Stan tilted his head and went to ask why but Henry waved his hand and collected up some clothes for Stan to wear. He kissed him once again and then went to the bathroom where he started to run the tub. Maybe this was silly of him but Stan has done so many selfless things for him, maybe he could return the favor. Even if it was just one little bubble bath. 

He looked around the bathroom for anything that could make bubbles and quickly found something. He poured more than enough in and watched the liquid react and bubble up. He placed his hand in the water and then slowly turned down the heat.

He waited till the tub was filled enough to then go back to Stan was simply laying there, thinking. Henry gently wrapped his arms around and Stan wrapped his legs around Henry. He could’ve just had them stay like this and had no problems but Henry had drawn up a perfectly good bath and Stan was going to sit in it.

When the pair had got to the bathroom, Henry set Stan on the toilet’s closed lid. He went to start removing Stan’s clothes and when Stan attempted to help, he swatted his hand back. Stan just held up his arms and his legs for when Henry pulled the clothes away and set them on the ground. Then Stan was picked up again and placed back in the tub.

Stan slightly teared up, the cuts on his inner thighs still hurt but he tried not to let it show too much. Henry was basically spending the day taking care and watching Stan like a hawk. Keeping him safe was a priority and under his intense gaze, Stan was always protected. 

Henry looked at Stan and took notice of the way his face twisted. “Does it sting?” He whispered softly and Stan looked at Henry. He nodded meekly and Henry sighed. “It should go away soon,” Henry then picked up the bar of soap and rubbed it onto his hands. He tried to get as much as he could on his fingers so that he could get all of Stan as he needed to. 

Stan reached his arms up again to let Henry cover his body in soap. Henry was careful to not get the soap on Stan’s wounds that he’d carefully cleaned up earlier, but on accident he’d let some soap get on them and he’d heard Stan attempt to cover up a whimper in a breath. He would kiss his forehead and apologize every time. He didn’t always mean it.

Henry went to grab a small bucket that was beside the bath. He collected the bubbly water in it and ran it over Stan’s back and his chest. Stan tensed but slowly relaxed as the water dripped down. He looked at Henry with those sweet eyes and Henry suppressed the urge to just get in the tub with him. This was for Stan and Stan alone, he couldn’t get in.

“Henry,” Stan softly spoke up and Henry let all his attention fall to his voice. He set the bucket down and nodded to signal he was listening. “Thank you.”

“‘M not done yet,” Henry turned his head to grab shampoo. Stan watched him and then he slowly set his arms in the tub, wincing at the stinging that was now on his wrists. Henry watched him and gently reached his hand out and placed it on Stan’s shoulder, Stan immediately jerked his attention back up at Henry. “Don’t hurt yourself.”

The statement itself was ironic. After all, the only reason this whole weekend had started was because Henry had caught Stan doing the exact thing he hated to see the aftermath of. Stan had freaked out when Henry had come through the window. Henry was silent for a long moment and then decided that he couldn’t leave Stan alone. He tried to think of every reason Stan would do something to himself, and settled on the “you weren’t there” option.

So he would spend extra time with his sweet boy. Henry would do anything for and with him and hoped that it would help.

Stan slowly nodded at Henry but kept his arms under the water. Henry slowly removed his hand from Stan’s shoulder and then squeezed the bottle of shampoo into his palm. He set the bottle down and rubbed his hands together before running them through Stan’s hair. 

Stan let out a soft moan at the glorious feeling. Henry just continued to run his fingers through Stan’s soft hair and smiled down at him. Stan leaned into Henry’s touch and closed his eyes.

“You know,” Henry turned his gaze down to his feet and then back at Stan, “I’ve always really wanted to do this.” He combed his fingers through each of Stan’s curls, pouring as much love as he could into his care.

Stan mumbled a soft thank you. He didn’t know what else to say, but he was so fucking grateful for this. Henry wasn’t very gentle very often, and for him to do this really made Stan feel important. A twisted thought came to Stan’s head that he was shocked and quickly pushed it down. He just focused back on Henry’s fingers in his hair. 

Henry smiled as he watched Stan melt against him. For a long time, he didn’t understand what had attracted him to Stan and he still really didn’t know but he stopped suppressing that love. He was by no means the best or even a perfect boyfriend, but moments like these reminded Stan that despite everything, Henry Bowers wasn’t just made of rough touches and pain. There was someone in there who could be gentle, they just needed help.

“Put your head back and keep your eyes closed,” Henry instructed and Stan followed the order. Henry picked up the small bucket again and filled it with water. He slowly dumped it into Shan’s hair and used his fingers to squeeze the excess water. Stan smiled as his heart warmed. When the action was done, Henry grabbed the conditioner and dumped some onto his hand. He took a moment to smell it and smiled a little, coconut.

Stan lifted his head up and looked at Henry. He then looked back at the water and when Henry had placed his hands back in Stan’s hair, he started to sing. He wasn’t the best and definitely his skill was higher in his piano playing, but he could feel Henry’s fingers relax in his hair. He smiled as he continued the sweet song.

Stan’s ears twitched a bit when he began to hear Henry sing along with him. Henry always would listen and whenever Stan had asked about his singing, Henry always said he was shit and Stan was a lot better. Yet, Stan couldn’t see why Henry would say that. He loved his voice even for just hearing it once.

Stan went to slowly fade out his singing just so that he could listen to Henry’s alone. He supposed that both boys found comfort in each other’s singing. Henry hadn’t notice yet that Stan had stopped singing and so he kept going until the song was finished and his fingers had stopped moving in Stan’s hair. Stan turned to look at him with a gentle but big smile, “Your singing is really good...” 

“Oh, I,” Henry blushed a bit and turned his gaze to the bucket, “you like it?” Stan quickly nodded and Henry smiled a little. He had always hated singing for others, it was something he and his mama did often when Butch had left them alone. “Maybe I’ll do it more often,” Henry winked and filled the bucket once more. Without being asked, Stan threw his head back and closed his eyes. 

Henry ran his hands through Stan’s hair as the water came down to get out all the product. He knew that when he would run his hands through Stan’s hair later and smell him, he’d smell the sweet scent of coconut again. Stan let out a quiet yawn when Henry was all done and then Henry set the bottle down. He used the water to clean his hands and then picked up a towel to wipe them.

“Are you mad at me?” Stan suddenly asked and he didn’t know why. They barely spoke during the whole bath and while the gesture was kind, Stan feared there could be an ulterior motive behind it. He could always be a little paranoid at times. 

Henry rose an eyebrow at Stan, “No.” It wasn’t exactly true, but he was more upset with himself then he was with Stan. He truly didn’t understand that what Stan did, had nothing to do with him and all with what was going on in Stan’s mind. He kissed Stan’s forehead, “Just will you tell me when you feel like that?” It wasn’t really a question but Henry attempted to phrase it in a way so it sounded like a question. 

“I don't want to burden you,” Stan mumbled in a weak way.

“You don’t,” Henry looked at him sharply, “and you never will. So anytime you need anything, I’ll come.” His voice was getting more aggressive and Stan could feel the tension between them building up. Stan just slowly nodded, despite knowing that he’d be terrible about holding up what Henry wanted from him. 

Henry accepted the answer and picked up Stan from the bath, setting him back on the toilet's lid. He picked up the towel and wrapped it around the soft boy. Stan started to dry himself off while Henry grabbed his clothes and gave them to him. Stan slowly slipped into the outfit and smiled at the fuzzy pants and realized that the shirt was one of the one’s he’d taken from Henry. 

“Here, hold out your arms,” Henry smiled at Stan and held his hands out. Henry scooped him up into his arms, Stan immediately wrapping his legs around Henry, and held him close. He headed to Stan’s room and then laid him down in bed. 

Henry continued to hold onto Stan and keep him close. Stan yawned again and slowly began to slip away into his dreams. Instead of sleeping with him, Henry just watched him. Watched his chest expand and then sink back down as he breathed in and out. He listened to Stan mumble sweet things in his dreams. He kissed him once again and eventually couldn’t keep himself from falling asleep and joining Stan in dream land.

* * *


End file.
